WASHINGTON - The following is a statement from Richard Charter, offshore drilling
expert and senior policy advisor for marine programs for Defenders of
Wildlife:

“The well-researched findings issued today chronicle the shortcuts
and flawed drilling industry practices that led to the BP Deepwater
Horizon Gulf oil disaster and even now threaten other coasts. But a
report cannot, by itself, protect America’s shorelines and regional
economies from a repeat of the same disaster.

“Congress must now take legislative action to deal with the
persistent environmental and economic impacts of the tragic oil spill in
the Gulf of Mexico, and chart a responsible path focused on
alternatives to oil to keep America’s coasts and natural treasures
safe.”

Summary:

The “Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
and Offshore Drilling” today presented the results of its
comprehensive, nonpartisan investigation of the worst environmental
disaster in American history.

According to the report, the missteps and safety
lapses that precipitated the Deepwater Horizon blowout are systemic and
industry-wide.

Congress has yet to take legislative action in
response to the BP Deepwater Horizon Gulf oil disaster, to ensure that
this risky industry operates in the future in the context of our
national interest and accepts full financial liability for its mistakes.

###

Link:

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Further

On this day 50 years ago, a platoon of U.S. soldiers entered the hamlet of My Lai in South Vietnam and, in hours, massacred 504 unarmed women, children and old men. Over 300 of the victims were younger than 12; the G.I.s also raped many of the women and burned all the homes. Today, with torturers and warmongers on the rise, the horrors of My Lai serve as a grim warning. In America's wars of choice, says one vet, we are all "one step away from My Lai."